Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Doyle Hired Convicted Caucus Scandal Operative

Nice.

Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration has hired a former legislative aide convicted of two misdemeanors in the caucus scandal to a six-figure job leading the state’s federal lobbying effort.

Tanya Bjork, 38, was convicted of two misdemeanors in 2005 for her role in the largest political scandal in state history. Bjork served as a chief of staff to former Sen. Brian Burke (D-Milwaukee), who was convicted of a felony and misdemeanor in 2005 as part of a widespread investigation that uncovered political campaigning using taxpayer resources. Before she worked for Burke, she worked for the Assembly Democratic Caucus.

Bjork pleaded no contest to charges that she altered records and illegally solicited campaign funds in the Capitol.

[...]

Heck said the job represented a “continuation of the political spoils system” because Bjork ran the presidential campaign of Barack Obama in Wisconsin.

Bjork, who started the new job Monday, will earn $102,000 a year - 17% more than her predecessor. The job had been open for about 14 months.

(6) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1734 hrs
Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Look, I’m not saying that people convicted of such crimes don’t deserve a second chance, but really, what was Doyle’s screening process for this position? 

    Is this change I can believe in?

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 1748 hrs


  2. Certainly we can all think of her past what we want, and for some, that might be enough to disqualify her from future positions in government.  I respect that opinion completely.

    But she’s also damn good at what she does.  Nobody in DC cares about her involvement in a scandal that most big time players think is a absolute joke, and her connections to the Obama administration will certainly be a major asset as she attempts to secure federal funding for projects here in Wisconsin.

    You can fault Bjork for a lot of things but you’ll never be able to fault her for being incompetent.  And I’m guessing that’s why Doyle picked her - to him, the pros outweighed the cons.

    Posted by Recess Supervisor on January 27, 2009 at 1901 hrs


  3. I want to see the article written on this if there were Rs after their names. You know, debt repaid to society, misdemeanors not being that serious, the whole thing havng been a political witch hunt anyway.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 27, 2009 at 2236 hrs


  4. Campaigns were planned, speeches written, literature put together for candidates all the way back to the early 60s by mutual agreement of the two parties.
        Instead of prosecuting all of these people they should have just put an end to it.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 28, 2009 at 0922 hrs


  5. ATV - the new lobbyist for the MMAC must not have caught Owen’s attention.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 28, 2009 at 1122 hrs


  6. Apples and oranges.  MMAC is a private organization representing private interests.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 28, 2009 at 1148 hrs


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